(Yicai Global) July 18 -- Shares of Easpring Material Technology, a major Chinese producer of battery chemicals, rallied after the firm said it will team up with a major solid-state battery developer in China to come up with more powerful products.

Easpring's stock price [SHE: 300073] closed up 5.1 percent at CNY112.99 (USD16.80) today, pulling back from an almost 6 percent gain at one point. The shares have climbed more than 50 percent over the past 12 months.

Qingtao Kunshan Energy Development will preferentially use Easpring's cathode materials in solid-state batteries developed for global new energy vehicle makers and buy at least 30,000 tons of the materials by the end of 2025, Beijing-based Easpring said in a statement yesterday. No monetary figures were divulged.

Easpring has supplied Qingtao with raw materials previously. Going forward, the pair will cooperate on battery and cathode material projects worldwide and explore opportunities to join hands on financial and capacity aspects, the statement added.

Kunshan-based Qingtao makes solid-state batteries, small power packs that use solid electrolyte. They are potentially more powerful and safer than mainstream batteries that use liquid electrolyte, but are more expensive to produce with existing technologies.

Qingtao has attracted financing from mainstream automakers, with the investment arms of SAIC Motor, BAIC Group, and GAC Group major investors in its E++ fundraiser which closed in August 2020, according to its website.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi